1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to brake pedal assemblies, and more specifically to a brake pedal assembly that is releasable from an operative condition upon imposition of a frontal load to an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known in the automotive vehicle design arts that it is desirable to configure components arrayed within the passenger compartment of the vehicle to reduce adverse effects on the vehicle occupants when subjected to high intrusion forces such as are experienced in a collision.
While most attention has been given to the design of vehicle interior components immediately facing the vehicle occupants, including steering wheels, instrument panels, door and pillar trim, and headliners, the design solutions provided for those components have been found not to be suitable for dealing with another set of common components such as foot pedals, generally positioned below the instrument panel of the vehicle at the driver's compartment.
One treatment in the related art to accommodate pedal structure in a vehicle for intrusive loads is that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,538, to Senft et al. This patent deals with a foot operated parking brake which utilizes pivotal movement of the pedal to respond to intrusive forces. For brake, clutch, and accelerator pedals, however, and in particular for service brake pedals, the solution of the '538 patent is inapt because the parking brake is rotatably actuated and is not required to deal with the axial driving of the piston rod of a brake master cylinder toward the foot operated pedal, as is the case in many common service brakes.